Improvement in faucets



2 Sheets--Sheet 1;

H. B. LEACH. Faucets.

Patented Jan. 27,1874.

Wa'traesses. Q fume/vim.

UNI ED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

HENRY B. LEAOH, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN FAUCETS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 146,922, dated January27, 1874; application filed December 27,- 1873.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, HENRY B. LEACH, of Boston, in the county of Suffolkand State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Faucets, of which the following, taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, is a specification My inventionrelatesto that class of faucets in which the valve is closed by thecombined action of gravitation and the pressure of the water actingdirectly theron; and it consists, first, in the use of a piston-valvefitted to move up and down in acylinder arranged concentric to the valveseat, and the outlet passage ihrough the same, said valve or pistonbeing provided with a cylindrical extension from its lower end, turnedto loosely fit the opening in the valve-seat, so that the valvewill haveto be raised some distance before the port is opened for the purpose ofdisplacing the water above the piston in said cylinder, as a means ofcontrolling the speed with which the valve will close, and to preventwater-hammer, as will be more fully described. My invention furtherconsists in providing said pistonvalve with a circumferential groove; ormaking said valve of a reduced diameter near its lower end and oppositeto the inlet-passage through the side of the cylinder, and also turningthe remainder of the length thereof so as to loosely fit the cylinder,or forming therein one or more slight vertical grooves, extending to thetop of said piston, so that the water may find its way to the chamberabove said piston, an d force the valve onto its seat with a speedproportionate to the size of said grooves or the space around the valve.My invention further consists in a farther extension of said valve orits stem in a downward direction, and coupling the same to the liftingdevice below its seat, as will be described. It also consists in the useof a double valve-rod or stirrup, embracing and partially surroundingsaid cylinder, and provided with a central guide rod or pin at eitherend, and coupled to the valve-stem below its seat, and arranged to beoperated by a segment of a gear, or its equivalent, acting upon itsupper end above said cylinder, and its piston-valve. My inventionfurther consists in the use of a loose head or cover to the top ofthevalve-cylinder, provided with a packing-ring, and held firmly inplace upon said cylinder by means of a bifurcated bolster restingthereon, and the outer casing pressing upon said bolster when the wholeis screwed together, as will be described. My invention also consists inthe use of a rubber diaphragm, attached by its center to the upperguide-rod of the stirrup or double valve-rod, and by its outer edgesconfined between the upper surface of the bolster and the outer casing,to serve as apacking, to prevent a possible leakage of water from thechamber inclosed by the outer casing, and, at the same time, allow of afree up-and-down movement of the stirrup or double valve-rod. It furtherconsists in the combination of the valve-cylinder,havin g formed thereinthe valveseat and outlet-passage through and concentric to the same,cast in one piece with the base, the screw-shank by which the faucet issecured in place, and .a standard for supporting said cylinder, andthrough which a passage for the water is made, leading from the hole inthe shank to the cylinder, which it enters at at one side near itsbottom. My invention further consists in securing the whole together bymeans of an outside casing, inclosing all the working parts but theoperating lever, and held in place by means of a screw-coupling ring,screwing onto a thread provided for the purpose on the base of thefaucet, and drawing all the fixed parts firmly together. My inventionfurther consists in a peculiar application of the packingring to thevalve, which will be further described.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved faucet.Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the outer casing, the bolster, and therubber diaphragm, on line .70 0'0 011 Fig. l, and showing the remainingparts in front elevation. Fig. 3 is a central vertical section on line 3g on Fig. 2. Fig. 4. is a transverse section on line 2 z 011 Fig. 3,looking down. Fig. 5 is a transverse section on line 10 w, looking upand Fig. (3 is a transverse section on line 1) e on Fi 3, looking up.

Ais a base-flange, provided with an exterior screw-thread, a, andprojecting downward from the center of said flan ge is the threaded stemA by which the faucet is to be secured in po sition, and to which thesupply-pipe is to be secured in the usual manner. From the upper side ofsaid flange, and upon one side of its center, rises the flat orsegmental tube A The base A, stem A, tube A", and cylinder B are cast inone piece, and are hollow, a clear passage extending from end to end ofthe varying formsin cross-section, as seen in FlS.&1-J,

- 5, and 6, and as seen in vertical section in. Fig.

I). The cylinder B is placed directly above, and in line with, the stemA and has formed in its lower end the valve-seat, consisting of a thinmetallic ring,'b, surrounding the valve orifice c. U is a weightedvalve, fitted to move up and down in the cylinder 13, and provided withthe cylindrical extension d from its lower end, made to fit loosely theorifice c, and a further extension of trefoil shape in cross-section, asseen at d, to serve as a guide when the valve is aised. and at the sametime allow the free passage of the water through the oritice c. Thevalve stem is extended still farther downward, and terminates in a hook,(7 which engages with a corresponding hook, c, on the stirrup or doublevalve-rod l). The lower face of the'valve U is provided with a rubberpacking-rii'ig, 7:,sprung into a groovesunk into'the under face of saidalve, and extendin g laterally toward the axis of said valve, intoaigroove formed in the periphery of the extension (I, as shown in Fig. 3,said packing-ring being held in position by the extension (I projectingover its inner edge, while its outer portion rests upon the valve-seat bwhen the valve is closed, the outer edge of said packing-ring beingprotected from injurious action of the water thereon when the valve isopen by the inclosing-rim of metal 1' on the outer lower cornor of saidvalve. The valve 0 is also provided with the circumferential groove j ofreduced diameter near its lower end, and opposite the inlet-passage 7:,and with one or more vertical grooves, 1, extending to the top of thevalve, through which the water will pass to the upper side of the valve,and by its pressure thereon cause the valve to descend when the hand isremoved from the lever. The speed with which the valve will descend willdepend upon the size of the grooves Z, and the chamber above the valve,or the amount of water displaced therefrom in raising the valve. 1) is astirrup, partially inclosing the cylinder 13, and extending above andbelow the same, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3, and provided with a guide-pin,m, at its lower end, and a corresponding guide-pin, a, at its up perend, said pins being arranged concentric with the axis of the valve andits cylinder. The pin on has a bearing in the ear 0, cast upon the innerside of the tube A and the pin or stem '12- has a bearing in the upperpor tion of the outer casing E, and is provided with cogs 01 teeth aupon one side, into which the teeth formed upon the inner end of thelever F mesh, by a movement of which the stirrup may be raised, and byits movement lift the valve and open the passage 0. A portion of thestem at is necked in, or reduced in diameter, over which is drawn therubber diaphragm p, the outer edge of which rests upon the upper surfaceof the bolster G. The office of the diaphragm 12 is to pack the jointbetween the chamber surrounding the valve-cylinder, and inclosed by theouter casing, and prevent a possible leakage through the opening aroundthe operating-lever 1 while at the same time it allows a freeupwardand-downward motion of the stirrup or double valve-rod l). H is acover or head, for the cylinder B, and provided with the packingring q,embedded therein, as shown. G is a bolster, in the form of a ring orshort cylinder, with a portion of its height bifurcated, so as to formtwo legs to admit of its strad dling the upper cross-bar of the stirrupl). E is the outer casing, so formed as to inclosc all of the internalmechanism, and provided with the shoulder 1 upon the inside near itsupper end, which rests upon the outer edge of the rubber diaphragm p,and also with the lip 8 upon its lower end, and the coupling-ring Iprovided with an internal screw-thread to fit the external screw-threadformed upon the base flange A, by which the parts are all drawn. firmlytogether, and held in position. J is the outlet-nozzle, attached to theouter casing E.

The operation of my improved faucet is as follows: The water enters thefaucet through .stem at, will cause the stirrup D and the valve 0 to beraised until the cylindrical portion of the valve-stem (Z is above thevalve-seat, the upward movement of said valve expelling the watercontained in the cylinder above the valve. The valve is now open, andthe water flows freely through the orifice c, and thence to and throughthe outlet-nozzle J, and will continue so to flow till the finger isremoved from the lever F, when the weight of the valve and its stirrup,with the pressure of the water upon the upper end of the valve, willcause the valve to gradually descend and close the orifice c and shutoff the water. The cylindrical projection d, on the lower end of thevalve 0, fitting into the orifice c, and cutting off the flow of thewater before the face of the valve comes in contact with the valve-scat,and the small passage for the water to enter the cylinder above thevalve, effectually prevents all water hammer.

The valve O maybe fitted loosely to the cyl inder B, so that the watermay pass to the chamber above the valve in a thin film, surrounding saidvalve, in which case the vertical grooves lmay be dispensed with.

Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is-

1. The piston-valve 0, provided with the cylindrical extension (I, incombination with the cylinder B, having its upper end closed,

and provided with the orifice 0 in its lower end, substantially asdescribed.

2. The piston-valve 0, provided with the circumferential groove j, andone or more vertical or longitudinal grooves, l, in combination with acylinder having a closed upper end, an. inlet-passage, and anoutlet-orifice in its lower end, substantially as described.

3. The stirrup D, coupled to the valve below its seat, partiallyembracing the valvecylinder, and mounted in bearings at its top andbottom ends concentric with the axis of the cylinder, substantially asdescribed.

4. The stirrup D, constructed and arranged as set forth, in combinationwith the toothed lever F, arranged and operating substantially asdescribed.

5. The combination of the cylinder B, the loose cover or head H, and thebifurcated bol ster G, arranged and operating substantially asdescribed.

6. The combination of the stirrup D, the bifurcated bolster G, therubber diaphragm p, and the outer casing E, all arranged and operatingsubstantially as described.

7. The base-flange A, the screw-shank A the tube A and the cylinder 13,provided with a valve-seat concentric therewith, and an outlet-passage,c, all cast in one piece, in combination with an outer casing, E,secured thereto by a couplin g-rin g, I, substantially as described.

Executed at Boston this 18th day of December, 1873.

HENRY B. LEACH.

*itnesses:

N. O. LOM'BARD, S. A. W001).

